fitness

Awful fitness headlines come in a few different flavours

Sam B

Like this one!

I mean you could do these exercises anywhere but the market for the piece is women so it’s the kitchen.

Also, “winter flab.” Ugh.

It’s a sensible list of body weight and mobility exercises.

But that title!

And then there is the endless stream of “you’re doing it all wrong” titles.

See The Top 5 Exercises You’re Doing Wrong or 26 Workout Moves Trainers Say You’re Always Doing Wrong.

The other category of bad fitness headlines that I see all the time involve weight loss. This happens even when the study or trend being reported on doesn’t really have much to say about weight loss.

Sometimes I share these to our Facebook page with a little warning but often I don’t share them at all.

Finally, I hate the heavily prescriptive headlines. They ignore that we have different likes and dislikes. We also have different reasons for exercising at all.’

See Fitness After 40: How You Should Change Your Workout or How Often Should You Work Out? Here’s What Experts Say. The advice is all sensible but the should talk rubs lots of us the wrong way.

How about you? Do you have a flavour of fitness headline that bothers you?

woman in gray sweater holding white newspaper
Photo by Dinnow on Pexels.com.

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Published by Sam B

Philosopher, feminist, parent, and cyclist! Co-founder of Fit Is a Feminist Issue, co-author of Fit at Mid-Life: A Feminist Fitness Journey, published by Greystone Books.

2 thoughts on “Awful fitness headlines come in a few different flavours”

  1. My pet peeve “fitness” headlines usually occur in the spring. They tend to go like this: “10 Simple Exercises to Get Your Bikini Body”, “20 Foods you should NEVER Eat”, “Lose 10 Pounds of UGLY Fat in 3 Easy Days with this One Exercise”, or such other drivel.

    I get so tired of headlines that are designed to make women feel like exercise is only something you do as a chore to lose weight. Why can’t it be something positive that brings joy to our lives instead? “Ooh, teacher, I know why!” It’s because magazines/click bait/etc. sell more access to readers when they can draw you in by targeting your fears.

    Here are some headlines I’d like to see instead: “10 Simple Exercises that Everyone Can Enjoy!”, “20 Foods to You Should Try”, and “Why Exercise Makes You Feel Better – With No Emphasis on Weight Loss!”

  2. Oh, most of them are annoying, but they are so bad they are often funny. Well, not exactly funny – I know they can mislead people in important ways. But I guess I’d rather laugh than cry in frustration with the media? Anyway, I also get to laugh when they’re about age, since I was in my early 60s when I first trained for the thing called “The Death Ride” up in the Sierras in California. One of the things that attracted me to your blog is the fittest-at-fifty aspiration. I managed to be fittest ever in my 60s, and have yet to slow down much in my 70s; it’s great that you’re getting the word out that life is actually still good when we reach ages the headlines scorn!

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